Let me paint you a picture.

You wake up one morning and everything’s… off. The streets are quiet, but not in a peaceful, coffee-sipping kind of way. There are military trucks at the edge of town. Men with rifles standing on the corner where your kids used to wait for the school bus. There’s a curfew now. Your neighbor got arrested for being out after dark—just walking his dog. Checkpoints pop up overnight. Gas is rationed. The news isn’t news anymore. It’s orders.

That’s martial law.

And if that sounds like something that only happens in movies or far-off countries, I hate to be the guy who pops your bubble—but it’s not. It’s happened before. Right here in the good ol’ U.S. of A. Not a conspiracy, not a theory—history. And if the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that “normal” is a lot more fragile than we thought.

Now, I’m not saying we should live in fear. I’m saying we should live with our eyes open and a plan in our back pocket.

I’m Scott Lochlan. I’m not a Navy SEAL. I’m not a politician. I’m just a regular guy who’s spent a big chunk of his life learning how to keep my family safe when things go sideways. And when I say “safe,” I don’t just mean fed and dry—I mean free. Because under martial law, freedom gets… complicated.

This book isn’t about stirring up fear. It’s about giving you the tools to stay calm, smart, and prepared if the world around you suddenly looks a lot less like home and a lot more like a lockdown.

We’re going to talk about what martial law really is—not the movie version. We’ll cover what changes when the military’s in charge, how to keep your head down and your rights intact, and what to do when the rules shift and the wrong move could cost you more than just a fine.

I’ll share everything I’ve learned, mistakes and all. I’ll even tell you about the time I nearly got hauled off by authorities during a training drill because I thought it’d be a great idea to “blend in” wearing camo in a neighborhood full of panic. (Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.)

You don’t need a bunker. You don’t need to memorize survivalist acronyms or shave your head and go off-grid. What you do need is common sense, clear steps, and the guts to act when others freeze.

So let’s get into it.

Because if martial law ever does come knocking, you’ll want to be the one who already locked the door, stayed quiet, and knew exactly what to do next.